Coin compartments, coin vaults or coin storage assemblies



Sept. 26, 1967 c D. FAYLING ETAJL 3,343,133

COIN COMPARTMENTS, COIN VAULTS OR COIN STORAGE ASSEMBLIES Filed Aug. 17,1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 CLARENCE D. fifiYLl/VG BY WWW K2444, 7624 M5ATTORNEYS u INVENTORS I Sept. 26, 1%? Q FAYUNG ETAL 3,343,783

COIN COMPARTMENTS, COIN VAULTS OR COIN STORAGE ASSEMBLIES Filed Aug. 17,1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 CLARENCE 0. FAYLl/VG BY MWWWM M5 yaw i ATTORNgS 1United States Patent 3,343,783 COIN COMPARTMENTS, COIN VAULTS 0R CGINSTORAGE ASSEMBLIES Clarence D. Fayling, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Jack A.Puckett,

Russellville, Ark., assignors to Rockwell Manufacturing Company,Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Aug. 17, 1965, Ser.No. 480,426 6 Claims. (Cl. 232-15) This invention relates to coincompartments or coin vaults for parking meters and other coin operatedde- V1068.

In general, coin operated parking meters comprise a housing enclosing atiming mechanism and an indicator mechanism in an upper section and acoin storage compartment or vault in a lower section. Coins insertedinto the upper section actuate the timer and indicator mechanism andthen pass downwardly into the coin storage compartment where they areretained until they are removed by a coin collector.

Since parking meters are notoriously attractive targets for vandalismand robbery they must be of exceptionally rugged construction. Also,they must be readily openable to permit frequent collection of coins andto permit removal of the coins rapidly and conveniently.

At present there are several different systems available for coincollection. Some require that the door of the coin box be hinged at thetop of the door opening for dump collection and others require that thedoor be hinged at the bottom of the door opening for use with aremovable coin box. Prior to the present invention parking meters havebeen constructed to permit their use with one coin collection system orother, but not with both. Accordingly, in many cases the replacement ofexisting parking meters or the addition of new meters requires eithersubstantial revision of the meter structure or the adoption by the cityof two different coin collection systems.

It is also important in the construction of parking meters that the coincompartment door, when closed and locked, have essentially the sameresistance to breakage or unauthorized opening as one of the solid Wallsof the coin compartment itself. The door and the adjacent coincompartment structure must be so constructed that the door can neitherbe removed by prying outwardly nor by being driven inwardly. The lockstructure must be similarly resistant to mechanical damage by impact orby drilling.

With these considerations in mind it is a principal purpose and objectof the present invention to provide improved coin compartment and doorstructure for parking meters and similar coin operated devices whichsatisfy the foregoing requirements to a degree not heretofore availablein the art.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide unique coinstorage compartment and door constructions which permit the door to bepivoted either at the top or bottom of the door opening and in which thedoor may be quickly and easily reversed without modification of the dooror the compartment or the removal or addition of parts or without use ofconventional hinges and hinge pins.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide coincompartments and reversible doors for the compartments in which thereversibility is achieved without sacrificing the ruggedness andvandal-resistant characteristics of the structure.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide improvedcoin vaults and reversible doors in which the reversibility is achievedwithout requiring additional parts and without increasing the cost ofthe structure.

, It is a further object of the present invention to provide improvedlocking assemblies for coin compartment doors which are relativelysimple and of inexpensive construction and which provide an unusualdegree of resistance to breakage or disabling.

Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a parking meter assembly including a coinvault and door embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a central vertical section taken along line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary interior view looking in the direction of thearrows 33 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken along line 4-4 ofFIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 showing the door in invertedposition.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings the parking meterassembly indicated generally at 20 in cludes an upper section 22 housingthe usual timing and indicator mechanism and a lower coin vault sectionindicated generally at 24. The entire assembly is adapted to be securelymounted on a post 26 by means not shown.

The upper section 22 has the usual coin receiving slot 27 through whichcoins are inserted to set time on the meter. The coins inserted into themeter are either positively driven or pass by gravity into the coin box24 with which the present invention is primarily concerned.

The coin vault 24 is of one piece construction and is fabricated ofmalleable iron having maximum impact resistance. The vault is formedwith a top wall 28 having an opening, not shown, for the reception ofcoins from the upper meter section, an essentially flat back wall 30,opposed side walls 32 and 34, and a horizontal bottom wall 36 includingmechanism, not shown, for attachment to the supporting post 26. Thefront wall 37 of the coin vault has an opening 38 normally closed by thedoor assembly indicated generally at 40. The top and bottom edges of theopening are of essentially the same construction and comprise lips 42and 44 projecting inwardly from the front wall of the box, the lip 42terminating at its inner end in a downwardly projecting ledge 46 and thelip 44 terminating at its inner end in an upwardly projecting ledge 48.As is best shown in FIGURE 4 the sides of the opening are provided by areinforced front portion of the side walls 32 and 34 and compriseinclined flat portions 50 and 52 terminating at their inner edges in thealigned ledges 54 and 56, respectively, which are essentially parallelto the front and rear surfaces of the coin compartment and are co-planarwith the ledges 44 and 46. Thus, the door opening is bounded by a ledgewhich is offset inwardly a substantial distance from the front face ofthe coin vault.

The door 40,

against the surface of the lip 42, and inclined side sur- The bottomedge of the door fits securely against the outer surface of the ledge 44but is rounded as at 63 .and 56, respectively. At its bottom tofacilitate a pivotal hinge type action as described below. The door isalso formed along its top and side edges with co-planar surfaces 64, 66and 68, which fit securely against the outer surfaces of the ledges 46,54

edge the rounded projection 63 of the door bears against the outersurface of the lip 44. Because of mounting of the door in the recessedfront opening it is virtually impossible to insert a prying tool intothe space between the door and the door opening to force the dooroutwardly. Similarly, because of the peripheral ledge construction andthe inclined top and side surfaces of the door opening, the door cannotbe driven inwardly into the compartment.

At its lower edge as viewed in FIGURE 2, the door is provided with aheavy integral lip 70 which extends around the inner edge of the ledge48. This construction holds the door rigidly against outward movementand yet permits the door to swing freely from its closed position shownin full lines in FIGURE 2 to its open position shown in dotted lines.

The door 40 is guided for swinging movement by a pair of arcuate arms 71and 72 which are formed integrally with a base 73 secured by screws 74to the interior of the door. The arms are slotted as at 75 to receivestuds 76 carried by the coin compartment side walls 32 and 34,respectively. These arcuate arms 71 and 72 are retained on studs 76 bysnap rings 76a.

The door is nonmally held in closed position by the lock assemblyindicated generally at 77 which will now be described in detail withparticular reference to FIG- URES 2 and 3. The lock assembly includes ahardened steel bolt 78 slidable in aligned bores 79 and 80 formed inbosses 81 and 82 formed integrally with the body of the door. In itslocked position shown in FIGURE 2, the bolt 78 projects behind theadjacent edge of the coin vault wall. In its retracted position the endof the bolt is substantially flush with the end of the boss 81. The bolt7 8 also projects through aligned openings 84 and 86 in the inner end ofa retainer sleeve 88 positioned in a bore 90 extending through the door.

A key operated lock assembly 92 is carried by the sleeve 88 andcomprises an outer housing 94 having a slot 96 for the reception of aset screw 98 which is adjusted through an opening 100 to lock thehousing 94 to the sleeve 88. The housing 94 supports a rotatable earn102 carrying an eccentric pin 104 which extends into a notch 106 in thebolt 78. Below the notch the bolt is cut away to provide a flat 108 tofacilitate assembly for the parts. After assembly, a roll pin 110 ispressed into a bore in the bolt 78 to increase the effective depth ofthe notch 106 along its lower side.

The lock per so, which may take a number of conventional forms, iseffective to hold the cam 102 against rotation with respect to thehousing 94 or to permit limited rotation of the cam and the associatedpin 104 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 3 thereby displacethe bolt 78 between locked and unlocked positions.

This lock assembly is of exceptionally rugged construction and cannot bepryed open or loosened without complete destruction of the door. Thelock assembly cannot be driven inwardly through the door since its pathin this direction is blocked by the bolt. It cannot be withdrawnoutwardly since it is held in place -by the annular lip 112 on thesleeve 88 which is in turn held against outward movement by itsengagement with the bolt 74.

As stated above there are certain coin collection systems which requirethat the door be pivoted at the bottom as shown in FIGURE 2. In othersystems it is desirable that the door be pivoted at the top. Such aninstallation is shown in FIGURE 5. It is a feature of the invention thatthe door may be originally installed in either position, or onceinstalled, may be quickly and easily reversed. To reverse the door fromeither position it is necessary only to open the door, remove snap rings7611, spring the arms 71 and 72 inwardly sufliciently to clear the studs76, reposition the door in reverse orientation and snap the arms 71 and72 onto the studs and replacing the snap rings 76a. Since the top andbottom edges of the door opening are of the same configuration anddimensions the operation of the hinge and lock is the same in eitherposition of the door.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A coin storage assembly for a coin operated device comprising, a coincompartment having a front wall, means forming an inwardly taperingrecess in said front wall, said recess terminating at its inner end at afirst ledge peripherally bounding an opening in said front wall, a dooradapted to selectively close said opening, said door having a secondledge adapted to abut said first ledge when the door is closed, and saiddoor having tapered peripheral surfaces closely fitting said recess, alock carried by said door at one end thereof for selective lockingengagement with said front wall of said compartment adjacent either endof said door opening, a lip rigid with the opposite end of said door forrocking engagement with either end of said door opening, said lip andeach end of said door opening being formed to provide a hinge connectionabout which said door may be swung between open and closed positions,and arcuate arms carried by said door and detachably engageable with theside walls of said door opening to guide said door in its swingingmovements.

2. The coin storage assembly according to claim 1 wherein the oppositeends of said door opening are of identical construction whereby saiddoor may be reversed end for end within said opening to dispose the lipat either selected end of said opening, said arms being operable ineither position of said door.

3. The coin storage assembly according to claim 1 wherein said lipprojects beyond the end of said door opening for engagement with theinner surface of the adjacent portion of said first ledge when said dooris closed.

4. The coin storage assembly according to claim 1 wherein said blockincludes a locking bolt slidably carried by said door for movement in adirection normal to the adjacent edge of said door opening for selectiveengagement with the inner surface of the adjacent portion of said firstledge.

5. The combination according to claim 1 wherein said lock comprises alocking member slidably carried by said door for movement into and outof engagement with the inner surface of said front wall, a rotatablemember carried by said door and operatively connected to move saidlocking member, lock means for selectively locking said rotatable memberagainst rotation, and a lock retainer carried by said door, the innerend of said retainer encircling said locking member to preventwithdrawal of said retainer, and the outer end of said retainer engagingthe outer end of said lock means to prevent Withdrawal of said lockmeans.

6. In a coin storage assembly including a coin compartment having a dooropening in a front Wall thereof, a door swingable about a lip means atone end of said opening, a boss at the opposite end of said door, saidboss having a pair of aligned openings, a locking member slidablyreceived in said openings for movement into and out of engagement withthe inner surface of said front wall, a rotatable member carried by saiddoor and operatively connected to move said locking member a lockassembly for selectively locking said rotatable member against rotation,and a lock retainer carried by said door, the inner end of said retainerencircling the portion of said locking member between said openings toprevent References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/ 1931 Roberts 7016210/1933 Bell 232-15 11/1933 Falk 70107 Miller 232-1 Love 2321 Teale eta1 2321 Abbott 2321 Sollenberger 70162 Runey 232--1 FRANCIS K. ZUGEL,Primary Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,343,783 September 26, 1967 Clarence D. Payling et a1.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patentrequiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read ascorrected below.

Column 3, line 51, after "FIGURE 3" insert to column 4, line 45, for"block" read lock Signed and sealed this 1st day of October 1968.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Commissioner of Patents Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Attesting Officer

1. A COIN STORAGE ASSEMBLY FOR A COIN OPERATED DEVICE COMPRISING, A COINCOMPARTMENT HAVING A FRONT WALL, MEANS FORMING AN INWARDLY TAPERINGRECESS IN SAID FRONT WALL, SAID RECESS TERMINATING AT ITS INNER END AT AFIRST LEDGE PERIPHERALLY BOUNDING AN OPENING IN SAID FRONT WALL, A DOORADAPTED TO SELECTIVELY CLOSE SAID OPENING, SAID DOOR HAVING A SECONDLEDGE ADAPTED TO ABUT SAID FIRST LEDGE WHEN THE DOOR IS CLOSED, AND SAIDDOOR HAVING TAPERED PERIPHERAL SURFACES CLOSELY FITTING SAID RECESS, ALOCK CARRIED BY SAID DOOR AT ONE END THEREOF FOR SELECTIVE LOCKINGENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FRONT WALL OF SAID COMPARTMENT ADJACENT EITHER ENDOF SAID DOOR OPENING, A LIP RIGID WITH THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID DOOR FORROCKING EN-